Heel-building plate



Feb 21, 1933. J. F. DONAHUE ET A1.. 1,898,942

HEEL BUILDING PLATE Filed Maroh5, 1930 /NV/EA/'foes L/fOf/M f? DONAHUE, n./o HM @MFM/@HOM Patented Feb. 2l, 1933 JOHN F. DONA-HUE ANI) JOHN A. MCMAHON, GF LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR-S T0 JOHN E. MITCHELL COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION HEEL-BUILDING PLATE Application led March 5,

The general object of this invention is to provide a novel plate for use, in conjunction with a suitable machine in building composite heels consisting of a leather base and a rubber tread, to enable the heel parts to be assembled, trued and put under pressure while being maintained in column formation in a chute or log-holder.

In the art of building composite heels of the character referred to, it is the common practice to place in juxtaposition to each other and in parallel rows of considerable length the heel bases and rubber treads, or heels, then to apply cement to the exposed faces of the bases and rubber heels, and after waiting a sucient time to permit the cement to become tacky, to assemble and true by hand the respective bases and rubber heels. As keach heel is thus assembled it is placed under pressure, either that of the hands or of a press, to cause a thorough union between the leather base and rubber heel.

This method is time consuming, laborious, and frequently results in the leather base and rubber heel being inaccurately assembled.

According to our invention, the composite heel may be assembled trued and subjected to and maintained under the necessary pressure for the requisite length of time in a continuous operation, and with great economy of time and labor.

While the heel-building plate herein described is a distinct subject matter of invention, the invention herein disclosed includes as part of its subject-matter the means by which we are enabled to utilize our improved plate in building composite heels.

Such a machine is of the genera-l nature of the vwelldrnown Parks randing machine, but

'for the purpose of the present invention we have illustrated merely the log-container, and the shaping or truing member, corresponding to the rand applying member of such machine, and a conventional means for applying pressure to the assembled heel to cause its parts to firmly unite and to force it downward in the log-holder or container.

In the accompanying drawing-- Fig. l is a top plan view of the upper part of a vmachine used in assembling the parts 41930. Serial No. 433,236.

vrthem downward into a chute or container.

The lpreferred construction of plate is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 and comprises a. body portion l of the size and shape ofthe heel to be built and having a flat bottom 2 and a convex upper side 3. The breast end 4 of the plate is straight or fiat and the plate is provided at this end with a projection 5 extending at vright-angles to the end 4, Lsaid projection being curved or convexed on its inner side as indicated at 6 in Fig. l, and s being upwardly and outwardly inclined, as indicated at 7 in Figs. 2 and 4. rlhe projection 5 constitutes what we term a heel-gage, inasmuch as, in use, the breasts of the leather base and rubber lheel are trued, or brought into alignment, by being forced against the inner sideof the said projection. As lis well known, the breast of a heel is usually concaved'and has a slight pitch or incline in an upward and rearward direction. The inner side of the heel-gage 5 is, as described, correspondingly curved and inclined, so that the breast of the base and rubber heel may abut snugly against the same and be properly trued and aligned. As shown by 'Figures 4. and 6, the heel gage 5 `is in all cases of less height than the height of the composite heel assembled thereon, so that as each heel plate with a compos-ite heel thereon is subjected to pressure, as hereinafter described, the bottom of the plate may bear with pressure on the rubber heel beneath it without coming in contact with the heel gage of the plate beneath it.

On the under side of plate 1 we provide building plate 1.

a pressure ridge 8, which is preferably 1ocated at the breast end of plate and projects usually a distance of one-sixteenth to oneeighth of an inch beyond the bottom surface 5 of the plate. The purpose of this pressure rid e will be presently described.

eferring to Fi 1 and 6, the numeral 9 indicates the top o? frame or table in which is supported a mold which to all intents and purposes may be considered as the upper end of a container or log-holder 11.

Supported on table 9 is a guide-plate 12 in which is slidably mounted a centering plate 13 having at its forward end, on either side, handles 14 b y means of which it may be moved in positions over or to the rear of mold 10, respectively. The conventional pressure means consists of a standard 15 on the upper end of which is pivotally mounted the outer end of lever-arm 16, on which is pivotally mounted at 17 a plunger head 18. In proceeding according to our invention, we first insert in mold 10 our novel heel- A leather base 19 Figs. 4 and 6 is next placed on the plate with its breast 20 against the heel-gage 5 and with its concave or randed side fitting on the convex surface 3 of the plate. The mold 10 is of a size to snugly receive the leather base as clearly shown in Fig. 1. A rubber heel 21 having rubber cement applied to its inner surface is next placed on the leather base 19 with its tread surface upward as shown in Fig. 4. The rubber heel is always sli htly shorter and narrower than the leather ase, as the sides and back of the latter must be subsequently ground or smoothed oi. It is necessary therefore to center the rubber heel on the leather base. This is effected by the operator grasping the handles 14 and pulling centering plate 13 forwardly, whereby the centering recess 22 thereof will snugly enga e the rubber heel and cause it to be proper y ositioned on the leather base 19 and also to have its breast forced into en agement with the inner surface of the hee -gage 5. The o rator next grasps lever arm 16 andv forces `p unger-head 18 downward into engagement with rubber heel 21, thereby forcin it into firm engagement with the flat side o leather base 19, and at the same time forcing the composite heel and the plate 1 supporting it downward through mold 10 into container 11, as clearly shown in Fig. 6.

It will be understood, of course, that in practice the application of pressure is eected automatically, as in the type of randing machine referred to, but as this machine, as such, forms no part of the present invention, we have for the sake of simplicity of illustration, merely illustrated a conventional means of applying pressure to the heels..

Practically all rubber heels have circular rojections or cushions 23, Fig. 4, surrounding the nail holes, and at the breast of the heels these projections are usually three in number, one at each corner of the heel and one in the center. A space, indicated at 24 in Fig. 4, of approximately an eighth of an inch is left between the front edge of the breast and the front sides of these projections or cushions. At first constructed, our improved plates were without the ridge 8 on the ottom, and it was found that in a number of cases the rubber heel and base would separate under pressure alon the line of the breast. To overcome this o jection the ridge 8 was therefore provided which ridge, in use, will engage the heel in the space provided at 24, adjacent the breast thereof, and operate to cause the rubber heel and base to be thorou lily united along the breast edge.

ome forms of rubber heels are provided with a central recess on their inner side and have a central portion projecting upward from this recess. In such, and similar forms of rubber heels, it may be found desirable to provide a pressure ridge in the center of the bottom of the heel-building plate. We have shown such a ridge in Figs. 4 and 5, the same being of circular formation and indicated by the numeral 25.

We claim:

1. A portable, unitary heel-building plate.

comprising a body portion of the sha e of a heel and having a smooth unobstructe upper surface, and a heel gage projecting upwardly from the breast end of the plate and of less height than the height of the heel to be assembled on the plate.

2. A portable, unitary heel-building plate comprising a body portion of the sha e of a heel and having a smooth unobstructe upper surface, and a heel gage pro'ecting upward-l ly from the breast end of t e plate of less height than the heel to be assembled on the plate and shaped to conform to the breast of the heel.

3. A portable, unitary heel-building plate comprising a body portion of the shape of a. heel having an unobstructed convex up r side and a heel gage projecting upwardly from the breast end of the plate of less height than the height of the heel to be assemb1edthereon and shaped on its inner side to conform to the breast of the heel.

4. A portable, unitary heel-building plate comprising a body portion of the shape of a heel and havin per surface an a heel ga e ro'ectin u wardly from the breast engi (if the plagte Bf less height than the height of the heel to be assembled thereon and having a. curved outwardly inclined innerside.

5. A portable, unitary heel-building plate n comprising a body portion of the shape of a heel and provided with an unobstructed convex upper side and a heel age projecting upwardly from the breast end of the plate of less height than the height of the heel to be a smooth unobstructed up assembled thereon and having a flat outer side and an inner side shaped to conform to thelcurvature and incline of the breast of the hee 6. A heel-building plate having a body portion of the shape of a heel, a heel-gage projecting upwardly from the breast end of the plate having an inner side shaped'to conform to the breast of the heel, and a vpressure ridge projecting downwardly from the under side of the plate.

7. A heel-building plate having a body portion of thesha e of the heel, a heel-gage projecting upwar ly from the breast end of the plate and a pressure ridge provided on the under side of the plate at the breast end thereof.

8. A heel-building plate having a body portion of the shape of a heel, a heel-gage projecting upwardly from the breast end of the plate and a curved pressure ridge on the under side of the plate at the breast end thereof and extending from side to side of the plate.L

9. A heel-building plate having a body portion of the shape of a heel and provided with a flat under side, and a convex upper side, a heel-gage projecting upwardly from the breast end of the plate and provided with a dat outer side and a curved and outwardlyinclined inner side, and a pressure ridge on its under side at the breast end thereof.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands.

J. F. DONAHUE. J. A. MCMAHON. 

